Saturday 9 December 2006 19.00 EST
First published on Saturday 9 December 2006 19.00 EST

Former Australia opening bowler Terry Alderman believes the Waca pitch, traditionally a lightning-fast wicket, will aid the spinners and play low and slow, which will be sweet music to Shane Warne's ears.

'The Waca pitch certainly has lost its pace,' says Alderman. 'There will probably be more bounce for the spinners than for the quicks, which is the crazy thing. In the three Western Australia games that have been played there this season, spinners have taken three five-wicket hauls in three games - WA's young left-arm spinner, Aaron Heal, has taken two five-fors and Brad Hogg has taken one. That has never been seen before at the Waca.'

This will not be good news for England, especially if Monty Panesar is overlooked again by the selectors. With Warne the main factor in England's collapse on the final day of the second Test in Adelaide last week, their chances of getting back into the series look bleak. 'It was one of those days for England. One of those Warne days,' Alderman says. 'There is an old Australian expression - "taking the gas". England's batsmen needed gas masks put out for them when they started to wilt under the pressure.'

Alderman, who holds Australia's record for most wickets taken in an Ashes series with 42 in 1981 and took 100 Ashes wickets in 17 matches, knows the Waca conditions well, having played for Western Australia throughout his career. He is critical of the wicket.

'I have been calling for them to dig the thing up,' he says. 'It was relaid in 1986 and at that stage we had 10 years of AFL [Aussie Rules] football played on it, but for the last 10 years there has been no football and no other sports played on it to do any damage, so there is no real excuse for it.

'It is a bit like Brisbane - the drainage is too good and the curator can't get the water to hold on the wicket and I'm sure that's the problem at the Waca as well. The water just disappears too quickly off the surface.'

During the three four-day matches at the Waca this season, batsmen have cashed in - in the 10 innings, there have been six with totals of 350 or more. 'Whoever wins the toss will bat, no doubt,' says Alderman. 'The matches here this season have produced heaps of runs - in October there was a record partnership by Chris Rogers and Marcus North, who put on 459 against Victoria. Justin Langer had a good match up in Brisbane, so watch out for him on his home turf, and Matthew Hayden scored his 380 against Zimbabwe at the Waca [in 2003] and he is due some runs.

Alderman also believes that Perth's sea breeze - known as the Fremantle Doctor - will be an important factor. 'If it is a really hot day you get an easterly, which, together with the humidity, tends to make the ball swing a bit more and a bowler like Matthew Hoggard could push into it and get the ball to swing away with the breeze. I always liked bowling into the Fremantle Doctor, although if it really blows it is hard to balance yourself at the crease.

Hoggard, who took seven wickets in the first innings of the second Test in Adelaide, has been compared to Alderman, who in turn rates the Yorkshireman highly. 'I predicted that Hoggard would be a key player for England in the last Ashes series in Australia, even though he only took six wickets. Even when the conditions get a bit harder, he keeps running in and hitting the wicket hard. He is a dream for Freddie Flintoff. He probably swings the old ball better than I ever used to, but the new ball was my game and what he has done in the last Test has made everyone in Australia sit up and take note of him.

'If I was Duncan Fletcher, I would be showing the other bowlers the 42 overs Hoggard bowled in the first innings, making sure that they watch every single one of those again, just to show what can be done if you concentrate on your line, hit the wicket hard and be disciplined.

'England could get a draw here, but it is going to be a huge ask to take 20 wickets on this Waca wicket. Australia are in a position to set attacking fields and England may not be up to it.

'The key in this match will again be Warne. He is unbelievable. The talk after the first innings, that "this is the end of Warne", was ridiculous. He will be back to torment you blokes over in England again as well.'

Terry Alderman was speaking to promote Sky Sports' exclusively live coverage of the Ashes.